The new We Buy Any Car advert – minus Phillip Schofield after he was dumped from the lucrative campaign – has been released.
It was confirmed in September that This Morning presenter Phillip’s contract with the brand was allowed to lapse amid the fallout from claims that he and his co-host Holly Willoughby jumped the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
This week, a new advert featuring TikTok creator Mufasa, real name Jeff Obeng, was was released, with the social media star showing off the dance moves which made him into a viral sensation with 928,000 followers, with Phillip not featuring at all.
All change: The new We Buy Any Car advert minus Phillip Schofield after he was dumped from the lucrative campaign has been released
In the promo, Mufasa is seen dressed in the same brightly coloured shirt and red shorts he sported in his original viral TikTok video.
The clip opens with him sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, with an unidentified passenger saying: ‘Mufasa, you know you sold the car, right?’
The passenger then breaks into a tune, singing: ‘Just sold my car to We Buy Any Car,’ to Mufasa’s 2019 adaptation of MK’s remix of the Nightcrawlers’ 1992 hit Push The Feeling On.
Gone: It was confirmed in September that the This Morning star’s contract with the brand was allowed to lapse after five years as the face of the company in a reported £1million deal
Mufasa then jumps out of the car and dances in view of the passenger, in a moment reminiscent of his original video.
A source previously told The Sun of Mufasa replacing Phillip in the ads: ‘Mufasa is just what the brand needs to inject some energy into the adverts after the backlash following ‘queue-gate’.
‘The hope is that a TikTok star will also appeal to a younger audience.’
New star: This week, a new advert featuring TikTok creator Mufasa, real name Jeff Obeng, was was released
Born to perform: Social media star Mufasa is seen showing off the dance moves which made him into a viral sensation with 928,000 followers in the ad, with Phillip not featuring at all
Mufasa shot to fame with his TikTok co-star Hypeman, real name C.T. Moody, following the 2019 release of their adaptation of MK’s remix of the Nightcrawlers’ 1992 hit Push The Feeling On.
The video, which saw Mufasa jumping out of his car to dance alongside it, went viral in 2020 at the height of the global pandemic and sparked a huge following with the likes of Kanye West and Katy Perry copying the viral dance.
Ghana-born Mufasa, who now lives in Virgina in the US, told Metro.co.uk last year that he had no idea the video would become such a sensation.
Eye-catching: In the promo, Mufasa is seen dressed in the same brightly coloured shirt and red shorts he sported in his original viral TikTok video
Busting some moves: Mufasa jumps out of the car and dances in view of the passenger, in a moment reminiscent of the controversial viral Kiki Challenge
‘It happened in 2019 and we were doing videos just like that,’ he explained.
‘When we got to the location we didn’t have anything planned. I didn’t have any dancing planned and he didn’t have the slogan planned.
‘We only did two or three takes and then we were just going to pick the best one. We just thought it would be a video we had done, a couple of laughs, but the reaction we have got is mindblowing.’
Hit: Mufasa shot to fame with TikTok co-star Hypeman, real name C.T. Moody, following the 2019 release of their adaptation of MK’s remix of Nightcrawlers’ 1992 hit Push The Feeling On
Success: Mufasa has previously collaborated with major brands such as FootLocker and ASOS
He first danced alongside a car to Cardi B’s ‘Drip’, and the artist posted the video to her own Instagram but its his 2019 video which has seen him land bog money deals and his huge following.
His now iconic ‘Obang’ dance move has been seen on the Super Bowl field and copied by thousands.
Mufasa has previously collaborated with major brands such as FootLocker and ASOS.
Phillip has appeared in countless tongue-in-cheek ads for We Buy Any Car since striking a deal with the company in 2017.
However, We Buy Any Car, which purchases second hand vehicles for cash, was among several brand’s teased in the wake of the ‘queue-gate’ scandal, with memes changing their branding to We Jump Any Queue shared widely on social media.
Holly and Phil were the subject of online abuse in the wake of the claims and a petition to have the duo fired from their lucrative presenting roles was circulated online.
In September, a source told The Sun: ‘Next week they’re [We Buy Any Car] shooting a new campaign and he’s [Schofield] not involved in it.’
‘There’s clearly a feeling within the company that he’s just not the right fit for the future and his contract will be allowed to expire.
‘It has been a very successful partnership but it’s time for a change.’
A spokesperson for webuyanycar told MailOnline: ‘Webuyanycar and Phillip Schofield agreed earlier this year that the webuyanycar/Phillip Schofield campaign would come to an end in 2022, having worked together for over five years.
‘The decision was made prior to any recent stories regarding Phillip.’
MailOnline contacted a representative for Schofield for comment.
Viral star: Ghana-born Mufasa, who now lives in Virgina in the US told Metro.co.uk last year that he had no idea the video would become such a sensation (pictured in the original video)
Online star: ‘When we got to the location we didn’t have anything planned. I didn’t have any dancing planned and he didn’t have the slogan planned,’ he explained
Queue-gate: Phil and his This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby have been battling a huge backlash for apparently skipping the line into Westminster Hall to pay respects to Her Majesty
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